By Ben Cowan, Chief Tournament & Operations Officer, DP World Tour
At this point in the year, the DP World Tour takes centre stage in world golf. Historic tournaments, outstanding fields, high stakes and tremendous support from fans in both established and emerging markets make our ‘Back 9’ a showcase for what it means to be golf’s global Tour. The recent DP World India Championship is a compelling example.
In only its second edition, the championship attracted an outstanding field featuring three reigning Major Champions and multiple Ryder Cup stars. For those players, travelling to India offers far more than another tournament week. It is a chance to experience a different culture, compete in front of a new audience and face a course unlike almost any other on the international calendar.
A different test at Delhi Golf Club
Delhi Golf Club has history in every corner. Established in the 1930s, its Lodhi Championship Course staged the inaugural Indian Open in 1964. It later hosted the first DP World Tour event in India in 2008.
But history alone does not explain its appeal. At 6,912 yards, it tests the modern professional through precision and strategy rather than length. Last year, 58 of the 138 players chose not to use a driver during the tournament. Rory McIlroy went further this year, removing both his driver and three wood in favour of two and three irons.
That matters. A truly global Tour should test different skills in different environments, rather than reproducing the same style of golf every week.
Cricket opens the DP World India Championship to new audiences
Being global is also about making our tournaments relevant to the places that host them. In India, we launched a new ‘Locker Room’ content series, hosted by broadcaster Anna Jackson alongside Sir Nick Faldo and cricketing legend Kevin Pietersen.
The twice-daily programme brought star golfers together with leading figures from other sports. As a result, fans got a more informal window into the personalities and stories around the tournament.
Cricketing legends Sachin Tendulkar, Brett Lee, Chris Gayle and Yuvraj Singh all took part, alongside Brazilian football great Ronaldo. This was not innovation for its own sake. In India, where cricket has such enormous cultural reach, the sport provides a natural bridge through which new audiences can discover golf.
It was certainly popular. The 50 short clips we posted gathered 7.4 million views on social media.
Creating a pathway for home players
India has a young population, an expanding economy and a growing appetite for premium international sport. Golf still has considerable potential to unlock, and our role is to help create the conditions in which that can happen.
However, lasting growth cannot be built on star power alone. The DP World India Championship is co-sanctioned with the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India. This gives home players the opportunity to compete alongside some of the world’s best and, crucially, creates a pathway beyond a single tournament week.
By topping the domestic Order of Merit, Saptak Talwar earned a DP World Tour card for 2027, turning opportunity into genuine career progression.
A long-term commitment to the DP World India Championship
The tournament’s $4 million prize fund, the largest offered at a DP World Tour event in India, further demonstrates the scale of our ambition.
In addition, DP World recently extended its commitment as Title Partner until 2035. That provides the continuity needed to further build the championship’s audience, identity and impact over time.
A fitting conclusion in Delhi
The golf itself provided a fitting conclusion. Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra secured his third DP World Tour title of an outstanding season, winning by two shots and moving to the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings. Now attention turns to the season-ending Play-Offs in the UAE, with the contest finely poised.
But India demonstrated something bigger than the outcome of one tournament. It showed what a genuinely global model can achieve when world-class players, distinctive venues, local sporting culture, pathways for home talent and long-term partnerships come together.
That is what being golf’s global Tour is really about.
